106-year-old WWII nurse, trailblazer honored in Bay City

BAY CITY, Mich. (WNEM) - A World War II nurse who has lived well past the century mark was honored at the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum in Bay City.

Irene M. Hosking was born in 1918, and on Wednesday night, June 26, on the USS Edson, she was recognized as a trailblazer.

“I’m always honored,” she said.

In Bay City Wednesday, the Aleda E. Lutz Medical Center’s Nurse Honor Guard honored 106-year-old World War II veteran army nurse Irene M. Hosking as an honorary member during the Edson Kline VanSlyke Marine Corps League’s meeting at the USS Edson.

“I definitely know that she served her veterans as we do as well and wanted her to be a part of every event going forward,” said Kristine Rodgers, a VA nurse at Aleda E. Lutz Medical Center.

Hosking joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1942, following in the footsteps of her brothers, which was a part of her story the members of the Marine Corps League heard during their meeting.

“She’s a trailblazer. She’s the first female to do certain things back in her time. And her story and the story she tells are just wonderful,” said Thomas Linabury, commandant of the Edson Kline VanSlyke Marine Corps League.

Hosking was stationed in Australia where she became a nurse anesthetist.

“Because there was a lack of anesthesiologists, I was elected by the officer, the doctor anesthetist to do it,” Hosking said.

While Hosking was honored for the acknowledgment, she said she will honor the enlisted men who fought in the war.

“And all the while, I would honor the boys, that were the enlisted men that had to go out and get shot at,” she said.

Organizers of the event hope that Hosking’s story will be an inspiration to veterans, nurses, and the public.

“I think it really highlights the importance of serving our country and serving our veterans going forward and the importance of nursing in general. We need nurses out there nationwide,” Rogers said.

“The things that she did for all of us, our country, and the sacrifices that she made as a nurse, and a nurse anesthetist back in those days, and just the fact that she’s she is who she is. She’s a wonderful person,” Linabury said.

Hosking credits healthy eating and drinking and a little bit of tequila on New Year’s Eve for her reaching 106 years old.

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